


All Around the Pumpkin Patch

by Twice_Shy (notboldly)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, College Student Stiles, Farmer Derek, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Derek, Pining, Pumpkins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-04-25 23:47:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4981507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notboldly/pseuds/Twice_Shy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek works at his family's pumpkin patch every year. This year, he finds himself distracted by one of their customers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Around the Pumpkin Patch

It was a sign of Derek’s poor customer service skills that the first time he offered to help one of the people browsing the fields, he startled the poor guy so badly that he nearly went head first into a wagon of Jack-Be-Littles. Fortunately for Derek's blood pressure and that year's supply of child-appropriate pumpkins, the guy managed to right himself just before he tipped over the edge, pulling off a frankly impressive maneuver that made him look like a drunken but determined yoga instructor. Unfortunately, despite neatly avoiding that particular disaster, his flailing arms didn't quite manage to hold onto the pumpkin he'd been carrying, a gorgeous thirty pound Harvest Jack that Derek had spotted on his way in and coveted all morning. 

The pumpkin didn't split so much as splatter when it hit the ground, spraying seeds and bits of fibrous membrane all over Derek's boots. It was hardly the first dropped pumpkin of the season, but Derek sighed in exasperation anyway. The guy looked like he was in his early twenties, and he was decked out in skinny jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie that made him seem out of place amongst the pumpkins, hay bales, and wagons. He was probably a college student, which was par for the course for people who came in and busted the merchandise. Derek didn't know if he had it in him to chase down a college student first thing in the morning.

His worries turned out to be unfounded when, miraculously, this guy didn't attempt to run or pretend it didn't happen. It made Derek regard him with significantly more warmth than he usually had for their occasional pumpkin droppers.

"Sorry," the guy said, rubbing a hand sheepishly through his short hair. "I can pay for that. Will pay for that." He glanced at Derek and then down at the ground, licking his lips and looking contrite. Derek couldn't bring himself to hold it against him, especially since the accident was mostly his fault anyway.

"It happens; don't worry about it." He glanced at the clock over the gate; seven-thirty. Who came to a pumpkin patch at seven-thirty in the morning, with nearly two weeks left until Halloween? "Can I help you find anything?"

The guy looked confused, which Derek had mostly expected. He also, surprisingly, looked somewhat adorable, with his cheeks and ears pink from the chilly morning, his lips plump and soft-looking, and…Derek felt like a pervert. _College-student_ , he reminded himself, but he still nearly missed it when his question was answered.

"Er…a pumpkin? A nice pumpkin?"

"For carving, right? Adult or kid?"

Clarity dawned, and the guy grinned at him. The expression fit his face, made him look less youthful and more mischievous, and it did not help Derek keep his thoughts professional.

"Well, it's for me, and yeah, carving. Um, nothing too complicated. I tried to do a Death Star last year, and I just ended up with a huge whopping hole in the damn thing."

Derek smiled slightly.

"Yeah, Death Stars are tricky like that; one weakness, and the entire thing collapses." The guy laughed, a single startled whoosh of air, and Derek felt accomplished. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "The carving pumpkins are mostly this way."

He turned and led the way to the stack of Howdens he'd artfully arranged yesterday afternoon, a bright orange pyramid carefully staked and fenced for stability. When he came to a stop and turned back around, the guy jerked his eyes up from where he'd been…watching his steps? It was difficult to say, but the ground _was_ uneven there, and the guy was obviously not the most graceful person.

"Watch your step," Derek said, and he grabbed the first pumpkin he saw that was free of blemishes and felt sturdy in his hands. The guy accepted it eagerly and followed him back to the lone wobbly desk near the front of the house that was set up as a makeshift register. Laura was nowhere in sight, because of course she wasn't, and Derek sighed and went around the desk to check him out.

The problem came when the guy tried to pay with a credit card, and the name was…well, not a name Derek had seen often. Or ever.

"Can I see an ID?" Derek asked warily, and the guy huffed. He didn't seem overly bothered, which was good; otherwise, Derek might've felt bad about watching him dig in his pocket, retrieving his wallet with an obscene wiggle of his hips that made Derek think of grinding against him in a hay filled wagon.

"Call me Stiles," the guy said as he handed over his driver's license. His legal name matched the monstrosity on the card, at least, and—after a quick check—the DOB revealed Stiles was twenty-five. It could've been worse.

Derek nodded and tucked the receipt into a brochure for Hale Farms, then handed it to him along with his card and license. Stiles grabbed all of it with one hand while carefully balancing his pumpkin on his hip.

"Derek. Let me know if you need anything else this season."

Stiles gave him a jaunty wave and a smile, and then left with both arms curled around his pumpkin.

***

Derek was unloading a crate full of Sweet Sugar Pie pumpkins from the truck when he saw Stiles again, two days later. It was a bit of a surprise, so soon, but it wasn't unusual to see some of their more excitable customers return when the month stretched on and accidents became more likely. Besides, Stiles had already dropped a pumpkin once.

Derek set the crate on the ground and closed the tailgate, ignoring the fact that he could feel Laura's stink eye from all the way across the field. Well, if she wanted pie pumpkins so urgently, she could actually do some work herself.

He was halfway down the aisle when Stiles saw him, and he spun around to face him, already grinning.

"Derek! Just the guy I wanted to see."

"Stiles." Derek wondered if it was weird that he remembered Stiles's name after only talking to him once. Probably. "Did you drop it?"

Stiles wagged a finger at him, still grinning. "I will have you know that you're making a big assumption based on one encounter. I have layers, Derek. _Layers_."

"Layers. Sure." Derek looked pointedly at the Star Wars graphic t-shirt peeking out through Stiles's half-buttoned plaid shirt, and Stiles laughed.

"Okay, that's fair." He rocked on his heels, hands going back into his pockets. He still looked out of place, although the plaid helped some. "Seriously, though, you are the guy I wanted to see. I need a pumpkin for my dad. Think you can help me out?"

Derek nodded before he'd even finished asking.

"Sure. Still carving?"

"Yeah. Dad's boring, though—Jack-o-lanterns all the way."

Derek nodded and led him back to the Harvest Jacks. Their supply was pretty well picked through from the after school rush, but he'd planned ahead. A flawless, unusually large pumpkin was tucked in the back, where Derek had stashed it during lunch. He might've been planning to take it home himself, but he didn't mind giving it to Stiles instead. He was a paying customer, after all.

"Here. Same kind as the pumpkin you dropped last time, so try to resist doing that again."

Stiles snorted, but he accepted it anyway.

"Funny. I'll have you know that I'm only a klutz when big, scowly men pop out at me from behind a mountain of pumpkins."

"I did not pop out at you," Derek said with a grumble, a bit disheartened. This was why Laura was generally better with the customers; most of them were downright thrilled to have her spring at them unexpectedly. Oh, how little they knew. "Besides, you'd be lost without a guide."

"This is true." Stiles bobbed his head in earnest agreement. "November would roll around, and you'd find me dead in one of the wagons. Crushed to death by pumpkins."

"If you get crushed to death by Baby Boo and Jack-Be-Little pumpkins, I'll get it put on your tombstone."

Stiles's mouth formed a surprised 'o,' lips pink and mouth distractingly open, and Derek immediately turned and speed walked the other way. The sooner Stiles had checked out, the better.

"Wait, hey, Derek! You can't walk away! Are there really…ghost pumpkins? Oh my God, you have to show me the ghost pumpkins."

Derek slowed, because he couldn't really say no to that. He gestured Stiles to follow him, and then led him to the wagon filled with small, white pumpkins. Stiles immediately bumped his shoulder, a friendly sort of gesture that made Derek feel warm all over.

"I can't believe I didn't see these earlier! What did you call them, boo pumpkins?"

"Baby Boo pumpkins," Derek corrected and, on impulse, he grabbed two and stacked them on top of the pumpkin Stiles was already holding. His fingers brushed Stiles's chest as he balanced them carefully, and Stiles didn't move at all, seemingly frozen. "One for you and one for your dad. On the house."

"Yeah, okay, thanks." Stiles sounded a little breathless, but he did have forty pounds of pumpkin pressing on his sternum. _Crushed by pumpkins_ was starting to look like a more plausible fate. "I mean it, man—thanks."

"Sure. Ready to check out?"

Stiles nodded, and Derek led him back to the desk. When Laura stood automatically, Derek gestured her back down. It got him a weird look, especially when he clearly didn't charge for the Baby Boos, but she thankfully didn't comment. Derek tried to milk the reprieve for all it was worth, but eventually Stiles left, walking slowly and carefully to keep hold of his pumpkins.

Laura whirled on him instantly.

"Did you give him your pumpkin?"

Of course Laura had seen him stash it; she had eyes like a hawk, when she wasn't out back slacking off.

"No. He bought it. For his dad."

"But you did give him the Baby Boos?" Derek shrugged, and Laura squinted at him shrewdly. "Is that a promotion I don't know about? ‘Make Derek feel things, get a free pumpkin?’"

"Shut up, no." Laura opened her mouth, clearly about to launch another valley of questions, and Derek took the high road: avoidance. "I'm going to go get the pie pumpkins set out."

He was halfway to the truck when she responded, her voice loud. Very loud.

"You should've done that before flirting with the customers, Derek!"

Derek flushed when several heads turned his way, and he deliberately kept himself busy with work until the sun went down.

***

If a customer visiting a pumpkin patch twice in one week was unlikely, three times was virtually unheard of for a relatively small operation like theirs. And yet, there Stiles was, busily chatting with Cora and gesturing wildly, when Derek came in for a few hours that Saturday. Derek stared with what he told himself was a reasonable amount of surprise, and then he went to go sit at the desk. Cora clearly had the matter well in hand even though, honestly, she was even less of a customer service person than he was. Stiles seemed to like them prickly, though, so maybe that was fine. Maybe he even liked Cora better.

Derek was ten minutes into angrily arranging their receipts, phone orders, and notes when Cora came back and collapsed into his shoulder.

"Ugh." She rolled her forehead across his shoulder blade, something she only did when she wanted a favor. "Derek, you have to help me—this guy won't stop asking questions about fertilizer, and I've been with him for thirty minutes and he hasn't even _picked up_ a pumpkin. I'll totally owe you one, just please—save me."

Derek patted her consolingly on the head, but he couldn't resist twisting around to smile into her hair. 

"The guy in the red jacket?" He tried not to sound hopeful, but his heart had already started beating faster in anticipation, giving him away.

"Yes."

"I'll take care of it."

" _Thank you_." She groaned and sank into position at the register, and Derek gladly handed her the pile of papers that he'd probably only made into a bigger mess. Sure enough, Cora grumbled when she accepted them, but she didn't say anything outright; apparently, she was still in gratitude mode.

Derek walked into the field at a leisurely pace, eyes scanning the aisles for Stiles. He finally spotted him near the back, next to the Dill's Giant Atlantic. It was a novelty pumpkin meant to attract those driving by; it was definitely not for sale, and Derek was opening his mouth to say as much when he realized that Stiles was in the middle of a heated phone conversation.

"No, it's—Scott, focus! No, I didn't ask, because he isn't _here_ , and the girl looks like she'd eat my face if I asked her any more questions." A pause. "No, not in the fun way! Why the hell would I mean that in a fun way? Have you only been listening to _half_ the things I said?"

Derek cleared his throat, and Stiles whirled around, eyes wide and guilty.

"Uh. Gotta go, Scott." He hung up his phone and rubbed a hand over his head. "Uh. Hi there, Derek. How much of that did you hear?"

"Some." Derek crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look intimidating. "Were you badmouthing my sister?"

"No, not at all, I promise!" Stiles looked relieved, which wasn't the reaction Derek was used to getting when he glared at someone. "She's definitely a…person. Your sister, you said? I can see it. Younger or older?"

"Younger," Derek answered, still a little confused. "She said you were asking about fertilizer?"

"What? Um…yes?" Stiles's smile turned forced. "My dad's thinking of starting a garden, so I told him I'd come ask you guys if you had any, like, spare pumpkins? You can use old pumpkins are fertilizer, right?"

"Sure, but…it's the middle of October. We won't have much for compost until November at the earliest." Derek looked at him, at the way he was fidgeting and shifting. Nervous. "Did you break your dad's pumpkin?"

"No, definitely not. That thing is like the crown jewel of pumpkins, I'm not even going near it." Stiles smiled faintly, and then deflated almost immediately. "But…that would've been a great excuse to be here, right?"

"Did you need an excuse?" Derek asked, because this was weird, wasn't it? If Stiles wasn't here for a pumpkin, then why—

"Carving kits!" Stiles blurted, looking a little desperate. "I'm definitely here for a carving kit. You guys have them, right? If I have to use one of those orange, kid-friendly saws again this year, I might run screaming through the streets early."

"Yeah, we have a few. Follow me."

Derek led him back to the front, and he pulled the box of kits from under the desk. Cora narrowed her eyes when Stiles joined them, but Stiles, for his part, didn't even seem to notice Cora was there.

Derek searched the box and found what he was looking for: a kit for experts. He didn't know if Stiles was an expert at carving, but it was the best kit anyway, and the next step up from, yes, the orange kid kits. Derek felt a little guilty about how expensive it was, though, especially since Stiles had already made the trip all the way out here. He kept his hands low in the box, and before he handed it to Stiles, he furtively tore one of the corners.

"Huh. Looks like the packaging is ripped." Ripped, but barely—Derek didn't want to hand him something with an exposed blade, or anything. "I guess it's half-off."

Stiles grinned brightly and handed over his card, then tucked the kit under his arm.

"I knew you guys would have something. This place is the best; 10/10, would buy from again."

"And you probably will." Derek looked up from punching in the numbers in the card machine, unable to help smiling slightly. "We're here until December, or I am, at least. Be sure to come back for that compost."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cora mouth _oh my God_. Derek ignored her and finished checking Stiles out, their hands barely brushing when he handed him his card and receipt.

"Oh, I definitely will." Stiles grinned at him. "Thanks a lot, Pumpkin King."

Stiles turned and walked away, whistling slightly. He was barely out of sight before Cora whacked Derek on the shoulder. 

Derek shot her an annoyed look.

"I cannot believe you. That was the _Baby Boo Guy_ , and you were just waiting for the chance to awkwardly flirt with him." Cora huffed, looking smug when Derek didn't correct her. "I so do not owe you one."

Derek figured that was fair.

***

After spending most of the following day and night getting made fun of by his sisters, Derek made the executive decision to take a few days off from the front lines of pumpkin sales. He worked mainly in the truck, hauling their produce from farm to patch, and no one said a single word to him about his obvious avoidance of the entire topic. Laura called it a crush, Cora called it disgusting, his parents thought it was sweet; between the four of them, Derek was about at his wits' end.

When Cora walked over to the truck that following Tuesday, Derek was expecting more of the same. He changed his mind, however, when he saw her sad expression.

"Cora? What's wrong?"

Cora bit her lip, looking apprehensive. Derek frowned harder, more worried than before.

"You might want to come out front for a second."

Derek obediently followed her around to the main farm. The desk already had Laura sitting behind it, and she was looking out into the pumpkin patch with a similar distressed expression, eyes fixed somewhere between the Jack-Be-Littles and the pie pumpkins. Derek didn't understand, and he was preparing to ask what was the matter when he saw for himself.

It was Stiles, but that wasn't the weird part. For the first time, Stiles hadn't come alone, and he was standing with a floppy haired man of a similar age, two small kids laughing between them. One held the unknown man's hand and one held Stiles's, and they looked…they looked like a family, an appearance not helped by the fact that the kids were both around three and obviously related to the man standing with Stiles.

"Oh," Derek said quietly, and he didn't put up a fight when Laura gently nudged him into a chair. They were both looking at him with such concern that Derek forced a smile. "I'm fine. I thought..." He trailed off. It was obvious at this point that Derek thought he'd been flirting, and that Stiles might've been flirting back. Maybe that was still the case; it wasn't like you couldn't flirt with other people even when you were dating, or married, or a dad. Derek hadn't seen a ring, but he hadn't really thought to check when Stiles was so obviously a college student.

That was Derek's mistake, he supposed.

"Did they pick a pumpkin?"

If either Laura or Cora were surprised by how calm the question came out, they didn't show it.

"Not yet," Laura said.

"But we were thinking of asking them to leave," Cora added, still looking at him with sad eyes. Derek snorted, because really? It wasn't like he'd gotten his heart broken, he was just…disappointed. He'd only had three conversations with Stiles. Really, he barely knew him, even if Derek did admit that they were good conversations that had left him smiling all day.

Okay, so maybe he was the _tiniest_ bit heart-sore.

"No, it's fine. I'll take care of it."

They nodded in encouragement, and Derek stood and left the desk. He very briefly considered just going back to work and avoiding the entire situation, but he wasn't quite that much of a coward, and he couldn't in good conscience ask his sisters to deal with it.

"Can I help you find anything?" Derek asked, voice probably harsher than it should've been. Stiles jumped about a foot, and the two kids, twin boys that were still walking in tottering, toddler steps, giggled at him from where they were digging in the nearest wagon. 

Derek might've taken a small amount of joy out of sneaking up on Stiles again. Maybe.

"Oh my God, Derek, _again_?" Stiles sounded exasperated but he still beamed at him, looking warm and friendly and almost overjoyed to see him. That…that wasn't fair.

"Apparently," Derek said blandly. "Can I help you find anything?"

Stiles looked a little confused by the disinterested tone, but he shook it off quickly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I was telling Scott that you could hook him up with a really nice pumpkin, even though it's kind of late."

 _Scott_ waved the hand that wasn't currently occupied holding a child's, and Derek had to admit, he looked like a nice person. It didn't really make Derek feel any better; if anything, it made him feel like an asshole for resenting someone Stiles obviously adored.

"I don't know. Our stock is a little low right now." Stiles's smile dimmed slightly, and Derek caved. "But I'll check the truck." He took a deep breath, and plastered a smile on his face. "How many do you need, and for what?"

Stiles hummed and counted off on his fingers, although he kept shooting uncertain looks at Derek as he did so.

"Well, one for Scott, and two kid ones for these munchkins." Stiles gestured to the two kids, and they giggled again. "You know, probably the drawing kinds for them, actually. Oh! And one for Kira too, probably." He pointed at Scott then, who looked bashful and lovesick at the name. "That's Scott's wife."

Oh. _Oh_. Derek…was an idiot.

"Um. Sure. Well, the Jack-Be-Littles are good for kids and you obviously found those. For the others, I'll have to check the truck."

"Cool," Stiles said. "I'll go with you, help you carry them." He passed the kid hanging off his arm over to Scott, and then merrily followed Derek. The two of them passed the desk, and Derek deliberately blocked Stiles from his sisters' evil eyes. He'd tell them what happened soon enough.

As soon as they rounded the house, Stiles gently grabbed him by the arm.

"You okay, Derek? You seem kinda stiff. Like, not even your scowl passes muster right now."

Derek huffed, feeling the relief finally sink in.

"Just tired. It's been a long week." They fell into silence, but Derek couldn't leave it at that. "So. Scott's your…friend?"

"Yep. My best friend since birth, plus or minus a few years." Stiles smiled, looking lost in thought as they neared the truck. "I had to practically drag him here, too—dork doesn't think pumpkins are _necessary_. Kira loves Halloween, though, so she'll appreciate it."

"Well, I'm happy to help." Derek dropped the tailgate and paused. It couldn't hurt to ask, because maybe… "Did you come here for anything else?"

Stiles bit his lip, looking suddenly nervous. Like he had the last time he'd been here, Derek realized.

"Yes, actually, but I think I should wait until we're out of the range of—wow—a very large pile of heavy projectiles." He shot Derek a mock glare. "You totally have plenty of pumpkins, you liar."

"Sorry. I thought Scott was your husband, or something." Derek shrugged and reached into the truck bed, grabbing two large Howdens and ignoring Stiles's sputtering behind him.

"Are you serious? Me and Scott? He's not my type." Stiles smiled dopily at him when Derek handed him the pumpkins. "I'm pretty much exclusively into pumpkin farmers, these days."

Derek smiled, a true smile, and Stiles stared at him. Stiles stared at him a lot, actually.

"Well, this farmer has been meaning to make a pumpkin pie and hasn't gotten the chance yet. Wanna help?"

"If that's a legitimate offer, then yes. If that's code for putting out…" Stiles gave him a slow, dirty smile. "Then also yes."

Derek wanted to kiss him. Stiles was waiting, lips already parted. Derek leaned forward, slowly, teasingly…and then he put two pie pumpkins on top of the Howdens.

"Buy these, and we'll see."

Stiles squinted at him, but Derek just smiled and closed the tailgate.

"Dude, not fair." He sighed. "I'll just go buy these, shall I?"

"Wait for me. I'll give you a discount. And my number."

Stiles smiled wide and happily trotted back to Scott and the kids, only stumbling once over the uneven ground. Derek watched him go, grinning like he hadn't in years.

Derek ended up giving them four of the six pumpkins for free, just to see Stiles smile at him again. He smiled even wider, though, when he saw Derek's phone number tucked in with the receipt.

***

END

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is very welcome, and I hope you all enjoyed; come visit me on [Tumblr](http://notboldly.tumblr.com) if you want! 
> 
> Otherwise: Happy Autumn, everyone!


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